Hat-setting machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet; 2.

W. J. GORDNI ER 8: J. F. GURRAN.

HAT SETTING MAUHINE- No. 392,725. Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

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BY ATTY s.

UNITED STATES PATENT BEIGE.

WVILLIAllI J. GORDNIER, OF YONKERS, NEWV YORK, AND J. FRANK OURRAN,

OF NEWVARK, NEYV JERSEY.

HAT-SETTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,725, dated November 13, 1888.

Application filed August 5, 1887. Serial No. 216174. (No model.)

To aZZ whom. it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM J. GORDNIER and J. FRANK GURRAN, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Yonkers, in

the county of VVestchester and State of New York, and at Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Hat-Setting Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference i marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the process of setting hats and to secure a more perfect finish as compared with the results obtained" by ordinary hand processes.

The invention consists in the improved hatsetting machine and in the arrangements and combinations of parts thereof, substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and embodied in the clauses of the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved machine, and Figs. 2 and 3 are side elevations conform more or less closely to the desired con tour of the hat-brim. By this construction the hat may be disposed on the blocks brim npward, the body of the hat resting within the said oval aperture and brim resting on the 4 5 upper faces of said blocks and allowing the operator to handle the brim from above and at the edges to set the same while the blocks are being operated by quick and sharp movements from beneath. Said blocks are in two or more parts, and are adapted to separate laterally or horizontally to run against the portion of the brim turned over the outer edges of the block, as will be described.

To give a positive movement to the separable blocks, the same slide in or on suitable ways or tracks, (Z (1, formed or secured on or in the table or frame, the blocks being each provided with suitable stays, stands, or slides, c 0, adapted to hold the blocks into proper cooperating relation with said traeks or ways.

To separate the blocks at the proper moment or stage in the setting process without the necessity of employing the hands of the opera tor, which, by preference, are otherwise engaged in the setting process, we have provided a system of levers, ff, to engage the hat-blocks at the sides thereof, as at g 9, suitable eyes, sockets, or other receptacles, 71, being provided to receive the upper ends or portion of the said lever and hold the same into connection with the blocks. Said levers f f are fulerumed on the bed, frame, or table at suitable points therein, as atf. The lower ends of the levers are connected by means-such as connecting rods or bars z i--with a treadle or treadles,

- jj, so that when said treadles are depressed by the foot of the operator they tend to draw the lower ends of the levers f f together and at the same time separate the upper ends thereof and the blocks with them. The blocks are brought together automatically after thus be ing separated by the foot by means of a spring, f, which is preferably arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, between the lower portions of the le vers f f, tending to separate them. Thelower ends of the leversff are outwardly turned, or at least the point of connection between the same, with the connecting-rods laterally distant from the straight line that would connect the treadles with the fulcrums ff, so that when the treadles are depressed the parts f z are moved toward the said straight line and the desired motion is obtained.

It will be obvious that equivalentmeans for securing the desired movements may be employed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and we do not conse quently wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the construction and arrangement of parts positively described.

In carrying the invention into effect the hat in the heated condition,devoid of the set ICO or without the concavity formed on the under side of the brim extending from the front of the hat to the back, is placed on the block, the body entering the central oblong opening or aperture, 0, and the curled brim resting on the flanges. The upper side of the inverted hat is thus free or uncovered, so that the operator may manipulate the brim in giving shape thereto with his hands while his feet are operating the flanges. After the hat is in place the operator then presses down the brim so that it conforms to the upper face of the flanges and causes the curled edge to extend over the lateral edgesof the flanges. The foot is then placed on the treadle and the blocks are caused to vibrate with a succession of quick sharp movements, and this is repeated as often as is necessary to fix the fibers of the felt, the operator at the same time manipulating the outer surface of the felt with his hand.

The blocks may be, and preferably are, di vided, as at 7;, the lower parts being permanently secured to the stays, stands, or slides, and the upper or flanged portions being secured to said permanently-fixed portions by means of dowels Z, as indicated in Fig. 2. By this construction the flanged portions are rendered interchangeable, enabling the operator to quickly substitute blocks of a different size or shape from the one he may havein use, and

thus enablinghim to change his work without loss of time.

The side portions of the flanges of the block are narrower than the desired width of the brim, thus allowing for the lateral play of said flanges as they work on the under side of the brim and set the fur or fiber.

IVhen the blocks come together under the influence of the springs, the hat may be readily lifted from the block without disturbing the set of said hat.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new is- 1. The combinatiomwith laterally-separable hat-setting blocks open to receive the body of the hat and shaped on the upper side to receive the hat-brim, of foot mechanism attached to said separable blocks, whereby said blocks may be separated by foot-power while the hands are employed in giving shape or set to the brim, substantially as set forth.

2. In a hat-setting machine, the hat-setting blocks having coneaved upper surfaces and laterally separable from one another, ways for guiding the lateral movement of said settingblocks, and treadles and levers for operating said blocks, substantially as set forth.

3. In a hat-setting machine, the flanged and concaved settingblocks arranged on tracks or ways, levers and a treadle for separating the blocks by footpower, and a spring for drawing the separable blocks together, whereby the said blocks may be quickly vibrated by the foot while the operator is manipulating the hat by hand, said parts being in combination, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands this 16th day of July, 1887.

WILLIAM J. GORDNIER. J. FRANK OURRAN. Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL,

CONSTANOE H. BALDWIN. 

